KEY POINTS:
The National Party conference is underway at the lovely Langham hotel in Auckland and one of the obvious aims of this morning's session was to promote the "mateship" between John Key and Bill English.
English's wonderfully descriptive quote in North and South about John "bouncing from cloud to
cloud" while he (Bill) grinds away on policy below has been an instant classic - I thought I might have seen John from the plane window on my flight up to Auckland.
It has also given Labour a gift to advance the notion of English resentfully doing all the hard and dirty work while Key flits around the country taking credit.
So part of this morning's session was about the pair showing how much they actually get on with each other. And the best way Kiwi blokes show mateship is to rib each other.
The slightly thinning John tells us Bill is very honest. John confided in Bill yesterday that he (John) needed a haircut and Bill told him 'Mate, you don't need a haircut - you need a hair transplant.'
Then when John gets to the hotel this morning, Bill says to him 'you didn't take my advice and get a transplant' and John says 'yeah, that's why I'm doing so well!'
So then Bill tells us that John is very reliable. Every time you tell him he is doing a good job, he agrees.
Fran O'Sullivan in the Herald today says the set-to this week over the therapeutics bill ended his honeymoon.
More evidence of that is that Key got a pretty hard time on Agenda this morning from Guyon Espiner. Key gave lanky Maurice Williamson the box around the ears he deserved over his unnecessary contribution to the obesity debate.
Key hosted a cocktail party last night and after the aforementioned set-to made a point of seeking out me and the Herald team at the conference to cut the ice and welcome us to the conference. Nice move. Being a Hawera-born girl, I ended up at the 'Taranaki party' at the Mecure Hotel hosted by the Taranaki Rugby Union who have arrived in town for the Ranfurly Shield challenge against North Harbour tonight.
Some National MPs have had to make an early exit from the conference to get down and get dirty with the parliamentary rugby tea. It is playing the curtain raiser to the Taranaki Ranfurly Shield game and is apparently going to be broadcast on Sky at 5.15 with commentary by Newstalk ZB's Barry Soper and former Alliance MP Pam Corkery.
Go Taranaki!
